


Goodbye Until Tomorrow

by Snap_crackle_spock



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, It's hard to explain, M/M, alternate universe but only kind of, like MUCH after, mostly - Freeform, set after the show, the characters we love but with a twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:06:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9070924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snap_crackle_spock/pseuds/Snap_crackle_spock
Summary: Magnus believed in reincarnation. He’d seen it a fair amount of times in his day, the faces of someone he’d known once upon a time ago pass him on the street a few decades later. He’d just… He’d never thought that Alec would end up being one of those faces.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Before we begin there's a few things you should know:
> 
> 1) I've only ready up to City of Glass (working on it) so I will be shifting the canon slightly and avoiding the Shadowhunter Academy storyline
> 
> 2) this is based more on the TV show than the books or movie, so most of the events that I reference will come from that. The characters are also based on their actor's appearance, so there's that bit of reference.
> 
> 3) This is my first shadowhunters fic and I'm very excited!

Magnus Bane had been around for quite some time. He's seen the rise and fall of empires, leaders, and entire countries alike. He's witnessed everything, from the inauguration of Washington to the crowing of Cleopatra. He'd overseen war after war after war, and still the greatest thing he'd ever been witness to was the life of Alec Lightwood. 

Magnus had loved people before Alec, he might have even been  _ in love _ with people before his darling shadowhunter, but none could hold a candle to his love, his husband. 

Alec had gone out like a star, burning until the very end. When he died, he took not one but two greater demons with him, and the Shadowhunter world had cheered while Magnus wept for the loss of half of his heart. Magnus been expecting that day since the beginning, the day that he would have to face the world without Alec by his side, but it still hurt like a bitch. 

He still had Max and Raph, though. The pain of losing Alec was only lightened by the fact that he had two wonderful children that he and Alec had raised together still with him. Max had stopped aging eight years prior to Alec’s death, right after his 23rd birthday, which put Raph at 33 when Alec died. Magnus only got 12 more years with him before he was gone, too. 

Shadowhunters died young, that was a universal truth that Magnus had forced himself to accept over and over. Still, it didn't stop hurting, even with Max still there to help him through it. It didn't stop hurting seven years later, when Max left to explore the world, and Magnus didn't have it on him to stop his only remaining child. He'd been alive for almost 500 years, after all, and he'd seen the world. Max had only been alive for 50 and he hadn't traveled any farther than Jersey. 

Magnus refused to be the cage that kept him under lock and key. 

He watched all of his friends and family die, like he'd been watching for centuries, and suddenly Magnus realized that he was alone. 

Who would have ever thought that Magnus Bane would be widowed by a shadowhunter? 300 years ago he would have laughed at anyone who'd suggested such a thing, and yet he wouldn't take back the past half century for the world. Every moment he'd shared with Alec, Raph, and Max was precious to him, and he only wished he'd had more of them. 

The world seemed like a much colder place without Alexander, and Magnus didn't know how to deal with it. 

Their friends had had children, Izzy and Simon had three adorable kids while Clary and Jace had a single son, who was possible the actual devil. And Magnus knew them. He and Alec went over to one or the other couple’s homes every once in awhile, perhaps to celebrate a birthday or holiday. Maybe even just to reconnect. But the point was that they talked, up until each of their dying breaths. And when they’d all passed, Magnus and Max had still talked to their children. (Maryse, Luke, and Cassandra Lightwood-Lewis and Matthew Fairchild) (Jace couldn’t decide on a fucking last name and ended up settling for Clary’s.) 

It wasn’t the same, though. The children all saw him as Uncle Magnus, and Max as a distant cousin. The most the two of them got were occasional visits for Christmas. When Max left, most of those children had kids of their own. Raph had gone unmarried, and the same went for Cassandra; but Maryse, Luke, and Matthew had all married and either adopted or been granted children. And by the Angel, Magnus didn’t even know their  _ names. _

He’d get an occasional card to say happy birthday or merry christmas, but he never saw them any more. He never got calls or emails. They didn’t even come to him for favors in hopes of being granted to them because of family connections, which was crazy. Why wouldn’t you capitalize on something like that? Magnus would’ve gladly bent backwards if it meant helping the last remaining traces of his best friends. 

For the first time in over 500 years, Magnus finally realized what it was like to feel old. 

At that point, he stopped caring. He let the years slip past him like water through a cracked dam. Every couple decades Max would come back to the city and spend a year or so with him. Once, he brought back a seelie girl named Lyra who reminded Magnus immeasurable of one Lydia Brandwell, as they had the same flowing blonde hair and affinity for upholding things that were right and true. Magnus enjoyed the girl very much, and it tore his heart out when he remembered that the seelies weren’t immortal, despite their magical blood, and Max would have to watch her go like all of his childhood friends. 

As the years passed and 500 became 600, and 600 became 700, Magnus noticed little shifts. He saw less people coming to him for favors, and more Warlocks wandering the New York streets sans glamours. It wasn’t until the year 4030 that he read a headline of an article that read  **Demon threat finally defeated once and for all! Shadow world and mortals alike finally safe!** He would’ve been fine with it had it not been a  _ mundane _ article that he’d seen it on. 

He called Max at once to question him. 

“Papa,” his son’s voice chuckled over the newfangled cell phone, which looked exactly like the last 20 iPhones had, just slightly thinner. And that was saying something, because he was pretty sure the last one had been marketed as ‘paper thin.’ “Where have you been for the past half century?”

“You know exactly where I’ve been,” Magnus snarked back, happy to still have this with his son. He might have closed himself off to the rest of the world, but at least he still talked with Max regularly. After everything that had happened, he couldn’t bear with losing him, too. He was the only living, breathing piece of Alec left and maybe it was selfish to want to hold him tight and never let him go, but damn him if Magnus didn’t want that with all of his heart. “What exactly happened in the past century that I missed?”

“Papa, the shadow world isn’t a secret anymore.” Max was smiling, Magnus could hear it in his voice. He loved it when Max smiled, because he had the same self-conscious grin that Alec had had, as if he were happy just to be able to smile at all. “I- I don’t have to wear a glamour to walk around anymore! There are still rules, like there had been back when I was a kid, only this time it’s humans making them and not the shadowhunters. But some places are more accepting than others. I’m in France right now, staying in the family loft, and it’s incredible. I just passed a werewolf girl and a mundane having coffee on the street like it was nothing, and a shadowhunter holding a vampire’s umbrella as they strolled by the Louvre. With all the demons gone, it’s getting better. It really is.

Max paused, “I know you still miss them, Papa. I miss them too. But… I think it’s time that you left Brooklyn. Or at least saw the sun more often. I get that shutting yourself inside that loft might seem like a good idea, but I promise that enjoying the world is an even better one. If not for you, and not for me, then do it for-” he stuttered a little bit, “do it for Dad. Angels above know he would’ve loved to see the world finally getting along with itself. Just… Enjoy it for him.”

Magnus felt an argument bubble and die in his throat, because dammit Max was absolutely right. Alexander would’ve spent every day trying to squeeze the most out of the newfound freedom that accompanied the shadow world. And Magnus wanted to honor that. He  _ had _ to. “When did my kid become so smart?” He grinned, thinking back to those centuries ago when he was just a five year old who didn’t even have a name. “I’ll see you next year, okay kiddo?”

“Okay, Papa,” Max hummed, and Magnus could hear the footsteps through the speaker, “February, right? Maybe this time you could come and visit me! I know you’ve already seen the pyramids, but they just found another layer beneath them and I heard a rumor that there were jewels hidden down there. I know how you like things that glitter.”

“That I do,  _ buah hatiku.  _ I’ll see what I can do about that Egypt trip, but for now let’s take it all a step at a time. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Papa!” Max said cheerfully before hanging up, leaving Magnus to glance over his loft. He hadn’t changed much since the 21st century, opting to keep Max and Raph’s old room the way it had been when they’d left, and he still had family photos littering every surface. Only small changes to the sink or lights marked any time passing. 

That, and Genghis Clawn. The Persian refused to do anything anything but sleep on every piece of furniture and then shed all over it before moving to the next one. Still, he was good company. And a good way to keep track of the years, as Magnus  _ absolutely _ kept his tradition of birthday parties for his cats. 

He didn’t have time to deal with his lazy little creature, though. He had better things to do. 

For the first time in a long time, Magnus readied himself for the world. He waved his hand and watched the make-up he hadn’t adorned in so long appear, his hair become instantly taller, his clothes transform into something actually tasteful, and the jewelry he hadn’t even seen since the 3090’s appear on his body. 

Magnus Bane was finally ready to take on the world once again. 

 

The world had changed. That much was obvious. Cars were flying and so were people. Buildings were taller and the sky was somehow clearer and smoggier at once. But none of that interested Magnus. He was far more fascinated by the people walking down the street, downworlders, shadowhunters, and mundanes all arm in arm. It was insane. It was spectacular.

The world had changed without him even knowing it, and Magnus felt incredibly stupid for letting that happen on his watch. In fact, it was almost insulting. 

He watched in awe as humans whizzed around him, while fae flew, and shadowhunters sprinted. It was crazy to think that the world could do something so drastic without him even realizing. 

He must’ve wandered the streets of New York for hours, just enjoying the life there like he never had before. It was still a tough city, and there were still people slinging slurs at others, but now it was to  _ fae and warlocks and vampires. _ At the very least the two worlds were joined through hatred. But that wasn’t the case with most people. If anything, Magnus observed more mundanes friends with the shadowworld beings rather than against them. 

He took a stroll through central park that must’ve lasted at least an hour, and he saw a group of girls laying in the grass, chatting with some mermaids; a werewolf child and two mundane children happily munching on ice cream; even a couple shadowhunters sparring there, right in the park.

He was obsessed with observing everything, watching as people were smiling more than in any other era he’d lived through. Angels above, Alec would’ve eaten this up. Magnus only wishes he could’ve known what the world was set to become. That there would actually be peace. That his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. 

As he lost himself in thought, Magnus failed to see where he was going, and found himself walking, walking, walking, stumbling, tripping,  _ falling.  _ And suddenly there were a pair of arms around him. A pair of strong arms Magnus looks up to see connected to an all too familiar face. A face he’d spent entire evenings studying, trying to memorize every single detail so he’d never forget it. 

“Alexander?” He mumbles, not even entirely sure that he’d said it out loud. And  _ oh, _ suddenly this spitting image of his husband is smiling that puppy dog smile that he knows for a fact he was just reminiscing about Max having not even three hours ago. And his heart is fluttering up and up as if it had wings and-

Oh. Not simply his heart. This doppelganger had physically lifted him up and set him back on his feet. No matter, because the simile still held true. His heart  _ did _ feel like it had wings and it was violently trying to work it’s way up his throat. 

“Alex,” another familiar voice came, and then Magnus saw Maryse walking up to them and his brain fell into the fight or flight mode it always fell into when she’d come around the house. But that was impossible, because she’d died centuries ago. She couldn’t be there! Then again, Magnus didn’t put past the woman to literally rise from the dead to cock block Magnus and her son. “Is there a problem here? What is this man-” she took another look at him and noticed his eyes, “this  _ warlock _ doing here?”

Magnus realized that, in the excitement of his journey through the city, his glamour must’ve fallen. He was suddenly very self conscious of the golden cat eyes that he’d once taken such great pride in. 

Alec ( _ Alex? _ Was that an x Magnus had heard on the end of his name rather than the c he’d become so accustom to? What was  _ happening? _ ) looked between Maryse and Magnus for a moment before dropping the grin that Magnus never thought he’d see again to a casual smile. “I’ll be responsible for this one, mom. Just… Give me a moment.” Maryse (not Maryse? Just someone who looked impeccably like that horrifying woman?) pursed her lips and cast a lingering glance between Magnus and Alec’s apparent twin brother before turning on her heels and marching over to a huddle of people dressed equally as plain that had formed a semicircle over  _ something _ on the ground. 

Upon further inspection of Alexander, Magnus noticed the differences. His clothing wasn’t black -which was a shock in itself, though it was still dark and gloomy-, his hair was slightly less close cut than Magnus remembered it being, and he slouched a little bit more. But the biggest difference was the runes. Or lack of them; that would probably be a better description. There was no defence rune crossing his neck, no speed rune decorating his arm. He was completely blank, and that threw the warlock through yet another loop.

Magnus believed in reincarnation. He’d seen it a fair amount of times in his day, the faces of someone he’d known once upon a time ago pass him on the street a few decades later. He’d just… He’d never thought that Alec would end up being one of those faces. 

“Sorry,” Alexander mumbled, adopting that puppy grin once again, “we’re just kind of in the middle of something. Not that you would care, because you bumped into me by accident. Sorry, by the way. I didn’t see you coming and I guess you didn’t see me either and  _ wow _ I should stop talking because you probably didn’t want to hear my entire life story and yet here I am, still sharing. I should shut up.” Magnus wanted to tell him that  _ no, _ he  _ did  _ want to hear his life story. He wanted to get to know this Alexander like he’d known the last and see if they were somehow the same despite the times. 

Instead he said, “It’s no trouble at all. And I should be the one apologizing, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” 

There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them. But it wasn’t stiff or awkward, it was comfortable. And Magnus found himself smiling, which felt like the first time in quite some time, despite the fact that he had done the same thing earlier that day when he was talking to Max. 

“I, uh, I’m Alex,” the taller man extended his hand, though only half way. Like he was afraid Magnus wouldn’t shake it. “Alexander, really, but Alex is fine. Or Alexander. You know, whatever.”

Magnus smiled to himself, because  _ only _ Alec’s reincarnation would stumble over his own name. “Magnus Bane,” He shook the other man’s hand softly, “It’s been quite a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. I do hope to see you again some time.” And he nodded to Alexander like he  _ wasn’t _ about to go back to his loft and tear his library apart until he found every book on reincarnation he had.

“See you around, then,” Alexander smiled at him one more time, taking a few steps backwards like he didn’t want to stop looking at Magnus before turning around and heading to where the rest of the drably dressed people were standing… and then turning again and quickly jogging back to Magnus, “actually, no. I would like to see you again because  _ wow _ you’re attractive.” He cringed, like he didn’t realize he’d said that outloud, “Anyway, would you like to do something later? Like, drinks or something?”

“I would love that,” Magnus smiled, then mentally slapped himself because he needed to chill the fuck out before he got into something with this person. He needed to give himself time to wrap his head around the entire situation before proceeding. “I can’t tonight, though. Perhaps tomorrow?”

“Playing hard to get,” Alexander laughed and pulled out his phone, sliding it open and offering it to Magnus to put his number in, “good thing I like a challenge.”

Magnus nearly choked as he finished putting in the digits. 

“Until tomorrow, Magnus Bane,” Alexander waved, this time heading back to his huddle for real. 

“Until tomorrow, Alexander.” 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Alex Laverick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that? Two chapters in three days? Is this girl crazy or something?
> 
> In all seriousness, though, this chapter is a little bit confusing. Because of the whole 'reincarnation AU' thing, I though it would be clever to give each character slight alterations to their name -no matter how weird it is to write the characters we all know and love with the wrong name- and I thought I'd give y'all a cheat sheet so that it was less difficult to understand.
> 
> Alex- Alec  
> Mary- Maryse  
> (Isabelle) Belle- (Isabelle) Izzy  
> Rupert- Robert  
> Jason- Jace  
> Clara- Clary  
> Samson- Simon

****

Alex Laverick had a good life. He wouldn’t go far enough to call it ‘great’, but it sure as hell could be worse. He was born right before the downworlder revolution (that’s what the history books were calling it now) so he’d never been in a world where  _ magic _ and  _ vampires _ and  _ demon hunters _ weren’t a reality. He’d even dated a vampire or two in his time. 

That being said, his parents were from a different time. When they were kids, the most magical their lives got were when reruns of old Harry Potter movies came on the TV. So Alex could understand that they weren’t exactly the most trusting of downworlders, why they had a bit of prejudice against them. He remembered back when he was five and told his mother that he wanted to be a shadowhunter when he grew up and she’d nearly had a heart attack right then and there. 

Did he agree with his parent’s views of the non-human members of society? God, no. Growing up, some of his best friends were werewolves and shadowhunters. He used to go to central park with Belle to share some sweets with the mermaids because they felt bad that the fae women couldn’t get any themselves. But he didn’t want to get into a discussion with his parents about downworlder politics, because that was one of the three dangerous topics of the Laverick family. 

**The three dangerous topics of the Laverick family, in order from least to most dangerous.**

 

  * ****Alex’s sexuality****


  * **Downworld politics**


  * **Mary and Rupert’s crumbling marriage**



 

If he wanted to expand, he could add Belle’s sexual rendezvous to the list, or maybe his parent’s apparent disdain for the Frederick family, despite Jason’s affection for Clara. But Alex liked to be concise. 

So _of course_ the very minute he and his mother got back to the NYPD, that’s when she goes and mentions his brief meeting with Magnus. That’s _two_ _out of three_ dangerous topics in one blow and Alex _definitely_ didn’t have enough coffee that morning for that conversation. So he just shrugs a “he’s a friend” and quickly retreats to the forensic lab under the guise of sharing information, though he suspects his mother could see straight through his bullshit.

“Is that the best big brother in the world?” He sees a head of long dark hair pop up from behind one of the big touchscreen computers they have, and before he knows what’s happening, his sisters running over to him. Isabelle Laverick (commonly referred to as Belle) was both the smartest and prettiest person that Alex knew, which was saying something, because Alex knew Jason, and he was nothing if not easy on the eyes. 

“Nah, but I’m here instead,” he teased and stooped down to hug her. Even in her heels, she was still almost a head shorter than him. “So, got anything knew on the downworld murder cases?”

“Nothing that we don’t already know,” she muttered, plucking the doughnut he’d picked up on the way to the lab from his hands. “More importantly, who is this Magnus Bane that I heard about? Because if he’s a guy that you haven’t told me about, I will be  _ horribly _ offended. I thought we had a  _ deal-” _

“Belle, hey,” he interrupted because he was  _ not _ having another Alberto situation. He still couldn’t look at the throw pillows in her apartment without getting horrific flashbacks. Who could’ve known that beaded pillows could hurt so much when thrown at 30 miles per hour? “How did you even hear about that?”

“Oh,” She held up her phone, “mom texted me on the drive back from the crime scene. You know, if you had a new boyfriend you should’ve told me! I’ve been working on this Thai recipe from back in the early 3000’s and I think it would be perfect for four. So maybe you could bring this Magnus to Samson and I’s place, we’ll make it a double date-”

“Belle!” He exclaimed in disbelief because  _ of course _ his sister was already blowing this way out of proportion. “He’s just- we haven’t even had a date yet. He bumped into me at the crime scene and I asked him out for drinks tomorrow. I don’t even know if this is going to be a serious thing, so could you please chill out?”

She stepped back, raising her hands in surrender, “ _ alright, _ fine. I’m just really excited that you’re dating again. After the whole Liza situation I wasn’t sure if-”

“I don’t want to talk about Liza,” Alex just narrowed his eyes. He’d been trying to burn that memory from his head for the past three months, and he never wanted to revisit it again. It hadn’t been encouraged by either party, but their parents had simply thought they would be  _ adorable _ together. It didn’t matter that both of he and Liza had been wildly homosexual. 

“Okay,” Belle trailed off, pursing her lips in the same way that their mom did when she wasn’t being sincere, and so far that was the biggest similarity that Alex had noticed between the women of their family. Other than that  _ one _ tiny detail, Belle and Mary Laverick were entirely different entities. While their mother was a calm storm, slowly rolling over until it smothered you, Belle was the lightning and the thunder and the hurricane all at once, destroying anything that stood in her way. But at the same time, she was also kind and open and loving, everything that their mother wasn’t. 

“Don’t do that,” Alex rolled his eyes, then continued when he saw the look she was giving him, “you know, that  _ tone _ you get when you don’t want the conversation to stop there. You do it all the time!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” She hummed, finishing the doughnut and going to her desk, dropping her white lab coat that Alex was 70% sure that she’d bought herself because nobody else in forensics wore one and grabbed her bag. “You’re still driving to Java Jones, yeah?”

Alex wanted to hit himself because  _ oh right, _ there was an entire gathering of his friend group at Java Jones that he’d completely forgotten about and was totally ready to blow off in favor of getting ready to see Magnus again later that night. He felt like an  _ idiot. _ Thank god that date was postponed. 

“Nevermind, of course you are,” his sister said, strutting past him and waving to the other member of the lab, “Goodbye, Sebastian!” The blonde man sitting at the other side of the lab just scoffed and muttered something under his breath that Alex couldn’t hear. 

“Why does he hate us?” Alex mumbled to Belle as they left the lab, his sister slinging the bag over her shoulder.

“Probably just jealous that we’re both better looking than him,” she shrugged and gave a short wave to Mary, who was leaning over Irina Cartwright’s desk, “bye, mom! Alex and I are off!” Alex just blushed, because he’d spent a  _ very  _ long time trying to separate himself from his family connections while at work. Because he loved his family. Despite their flaws, Alex truly loved them. But he couldn’t let people think that he’d only gotten the job because of them, he instead worked hard every day to prove that he was better than needing family ties. 

“I hate when you do that,” he muttered to her as they left the building and headed towards his car. Yes, he drove a minivan. But that was only because it was the safest car there was and he didn’t have the money nor the trust in technology to get one of those self-flying cars. Normally, they’d just take the subway, which Alex had complete faith in (and it would get them there quicker, hello) but Belle had insisted that they take the car because she wanted to use it for a trip upstate that she and Samson were taking over the weekend and, in her words, he ‘could just take the boring subway back after they went to Java Jones while Samson and I drive back in style. Or… This thing.’ 

“But you love me,” she countered, sliding into the passenger seat, “and that’s what really counts.”

* * *

 

 

Java Jones was a kind reminder of a simpler time in their ever progressing society. The inside of the little coffee shop looked like something straight out of the early 2000’s. All of the machines were antique, the walls were painted warm, cozy colors, and big arm chairs spotted the floor. Old pictures were framed around the wall, some from the current time, some taken from polaroids (whatever the fuck those were) and some actual drawn portraits from before the time cameras had even been invented. 

Alex loved it there, because he was an old soul and much preferred the comfort of an older, already recorded world than their brave new one. He liked the idea that this place (which actually  _ had _ been around since the early 2000’s. The Jones family had just been spectacular at keeping their family business up.) had been home to thousands of stories that he’d never even experienced but just knew had been there. While he sat in the plush leather armchairs, waiting for the rest of their friends to show up, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to the idea that someone had sat right where he was, and they had lived a completely different life than he did. A life that he probably couldn’t even begin to imagine. 

“Here you go,” Belle chirped, sauntering around his chair and plopped into her own, setting a drink and paper bag of food on the table between her and Alex while keeping another cup in her hands, “one  _ boring _ earl gray tea and blueberry muffin for my  _ boring  _ older brother who only eats  _ boring _ food and still makes me pay for it.”

“Thank you,” he rolled his eyes, a smile dawning on his lips because he didn’t even have to tell her what to get, and he definitely classified that as sibling psychic-ness. 

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her own drink (knowing her, hot chocolate) and somehow managing not to smear her lipstick on the lid (Alex was 90% sure the brand had advertised being enchanted by warlocks so it wouldn’t smudge) “just call it my thanks for letting Samson and I have the car for the weekend.”

“As if mom and dad would let me get away with not giving it to you when you asked,” he scoffed, “smart move, by the way, asking me during dinner. You’re getting to good at manipulating them.”

“Well, when you’re their least favorite kid you have to get creative on how you ask for things.” She shrugged, her waterfall of hair flowing over her shoulders. He wasn’t sure what it was -if she used a special shampoo or  _ what- _ but her hair always seemed to be a thousand times shinier than Alex’s. And he wouldn’t be that angry, except whenever they went out together she  _ always _ got compliments about it, and Alex wanted that. He was petty in that way. 

“You’re not their least favorite,” He murmured, “I think when I left my fiance at the altar I earned that particular award.” 

“Oh, so we can talk about Liza  _ now, _ but only because it benefits your argument?”

“Why are we talking about that mess of a wedding?” A voice called from the door of the coffee shop, and Alex smiled as Jason and Clara came strolling into the cafe hand in hand. The two of them  _ looked _ like a couple, both wearing all black, both unfairly attractive, and both covered head to toe in ink. 

The couple owned a little tattoo parlor called ‘The Institute’ that drew customers in with their extreme attention to detail. And, Alex supposed, when they had slow days the two of them simply experimented on one another because every time he saw them it seemed like one or both of them had a new tattoo somewhere. While Clara did more of the artistically advanced designs, Jason’s lettering couldn’t be matched. 

Jason had been adopted by the Lavericks at age five, and it had absolutely devastated their parents when he’d declined to uphold the family legacy and join the police force, instead choosing to marry Clara right out of college and go straight into their little business. 

Secretly, Alex was glad. At least this way his parents couldn’t compare them  _ everywhere _ . He was still the best officer in their family. Though, if he brought it up he was sure his parents would find some way to challenge him on that. 

“We were just talking about how you’re mom and dad’s favorite.” Belle greeted as Jason and Clara fell onto the couch facing the two siblings. Alex like Clara well enough, definitely much more than when they’d first met. There had been some… Incidents that involved harsh words and an uncomfortable love triangle. But they were adults goddamnit and they moved past that shit. Even if Alex totally had dibs. That was besides the point. 

They were friends now. That was all that mattered. 

Just as Jason looked like he was about to comment on that fact (because that’s what it was, a cold hard fact. He was Mary and Rupert’s favorite and he wasn’t even their biological child.) the door burst open and in walked in walked their last remaining member. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Samson came in, unwinding the scarf from around his neck even though it wasn’t even that cold outside. Fucking southerners. Samson used to live… Well Alex didn’t entirely know but it was  _ somewhere _ south and he couldn’t even go outside without a sweater if the temperature was below 40 degree. “Hey, babe,” He leaned over Belle’s chair, kissing her head as he passed before taking a seat next to Clara. 

“I would’ve been here sooner, but the whole meeting got held up,” he shrugged the messenger off him, and it looked like it was about to burst when it thudded to the ground, “something about renovations scheduled to take place on some hotel that’s special to the vampires and they got really pissy when we suggested just moving their coven to another location.”

Samson worked on the downworld council of New York, specifically in the vampire branch. It was a cool job, Alex would give him that, but it was time consuming. He had been baffled when Belle had told him that Samson had gotten time off to go on their getaway this weekend. 

“No matter,” Belle handed her cup over to him, and he gratefully took a sip before handing it back. Alex wondered if he’d ever been so sickeningly domestic in any of his previous relationships. “It’s not like we’re going anywhere.”

After that, the conversation flowed comfortably. Topics ranged from what the city council was going to do about the hotel the vampires were fighting for to how The Institute was doing to whether or not they were all still on for the Christmas party in a couple of weeks. It was all going so smoothly, Alex nearly choked on his third cup of tea when Belle suddenly said, “oh, yeah! Alex is going on a date tomorrow!”

The conversation suddenly fizzled out around them, and Alex had never wanted to kill his sister more than in that moment. He would get away with it, too. He  _ hated _ talking about his relationships in their friend group, because they were all like Belle. They all blew this into something that was far bigger than it actually was. The only person that moderately understood that was Jason, and that was more because he just got weird talking about Alex’s sexualtiy in general. 

“Who is it?” Clara perked up immediately, looking up from the little sketchbook she’d been doodling in. “Is it someone that we know? Someone we don’t? What’s he like? Is he cute? Wait, how long has this been a thing? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“Oh my god!” Alex felt himself curling in a little bit, shrinking down like he was prone to do whenever he was embarrassed. “It’s just some warlock that I met earlier today! I haven’t even checked my phone since then, let alone had time to text you about it!” Speaking of, he should probably text Magnus. Just so that he had Alex’s number. For emergencies. Not because he really wanted to talk to him so he could get to know this mysterious stranger that Alex could  _ swear _ he knew from somewhere, even though he’d definitely never seen him before. He would’ve remembered someone so striking. 

“A warlock?” Samson straightened next to Clara. God, it was like they were the same person, one was just slightly nerdier than the other. “Do you know if he’s been to any council meetings? I don’t know too many warlocks, but I know some people that do. I could see what I could find out-”

“It’s just drinks!” Alex groaned, mentally cursing whatever cruel god gave Belle the power of speech. It was like they were personally attacking Alex, and it simply wasn’t fair. “We didn’t have much conversation. We just, I dunno, clicked? It was like,” Alex blushed, “Like I’d been missing him even though I didn’t know who he was.”

“Aww,” Belle cooed, twirling a lock of her pretty, shiny hair around a delicate finger, “Alex has a crush!” And because of that  _ one _ comment, suddenly every member of their group piled onto him, teasing him mercilessly for not shutting his damn mouth. 

** That was neither here nor there, though. Because, no matter how much they teased him, Alex couldn’t stop thinking about Magnus. No matter how many times he told himself that it was ridiculous that he felt so comfortable with this warlock already, he still felt at ease just thinking about him. He couldn’t wait for drinks tomorrow, which was saying something because normally Alex  _ hated  _ bars. This just felt right, though. Like that was the only logical place they could go on their first date. Like he’d been preparing for this for years without even realizing. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed and I can't wait to see you next chapter! I know I promised the first date in this one, but I REALLY wanted to wait and see what they do with it in the show before I write it. I promise, though, if it's not shown in episode one I'll throw that idea out the window and write it how I want to. 
> 
> A quick side note that's more or less irrelevant: the title for this fic is based on the last song in 'The Last 5 Years', and I think that that entire song works so well with the idea I was going for with this story. If you're interested, you should give it a listen (and while you're at it, listen to the whole soundtrack because Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan do such a phenomenal job)
> 
> Finally: thank you all so much for your kind comments on the last chapter! Nothing brightens my day like getting to answer them! And, as anyone who's ever written me a comment EVER can testify, I will always reply, usually with at least twice as many words, and more often than not spoilers for future plans for my stories. 
> 
> Anywho, Goodbye (until tomorrow!) (ahhh, see what I did? heheheh)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo I know the first two chapters were uploaded right after one another, but this one took some more time. School's been a bit hectic between theatre, (understudying for the lead) math, (not quite the grade I want) and re-reading the Mortal Instruments. Though, that last one is more for inspiration than anything else. 
> 
> Anyway, I can't promise the next chapter will be up by next week but I WILL promise that it will have all of the love and care I put into this one.

In recent months a lot of chatter had been passed to Magnus.  _ This _ kelpie had a friend who needed a ritual done, or  _ that _ werewolf’s boyfriend was certain he was being haunted and needed Magnus to check it out. And that was fine, that was usually how jobs got passed to him because only about fifty people still alive knew how to contact him, and of them only about five actually knew how to find him in person. But lately there’d just been… More. Especially more downworlders asking on behalf of mundanes. And Magnus had just sort of… Ignored it. 

Because he literally had more jewels than the British royal family and could’ve survived on that comfortably for  _ at least _ another century. So he didn’t really need the money. And, yeah, maybe he should’ve put two and two together and he wouldn’t have been caught so off guard by the new world he found himself in. But now it made sense, and Magnus felt like an idiot. So he responded to a handful of the requests, setting meetings for later that week as an attempt to work himself back into society. That, and he felt like he needed busy work. 

If he stayed in this loft longer, he would -without a doubt- drive himself insane pouring over all the books he had. Once he’d gotten back home after that  _ anomaly _ he’d taken out every single book he had about the afterlife and reincarnation and studied it for hours. And he realized that warlocks were fucking  _ dumb. _ The most useful information he’d found was from  _ Mysteries of Magic _ by Anne Shade. And that simply read “Reincarnation is a highly elusive power that no known warlocks have control of. No downworlder fully understands how the process works, only that every few centuries faces will repeat themselves.”

_ Thanks, Anne. That’s  _ so _ helpful. _ Magnus thought bitterly. 

After all, you’d think that immortal beings with endless time on their hands and an entire goddamn  _ labyrinth  _ of knowledge (not even a metaphor, they had a literal labyrinth) would have something more useful than ‘we don’t know.’ It was driving Magnus insane. 

He supposed he  _ could _ visit the Spiral Labyrinth, see what information they had. Perhaps he could find something there that he didn’t have in his own library. And if no books had answers, there could be a warlock there who’d simply not written anything down about the subject but  _ did _ know something. At this point, he was grasping at straws. 

But that would take time, a lot of it. If he truly intended to go through the archives of every warlock ever to visit the labyrinth, he’d need to set aside a week. At least. Probably longer. And he had a date to attend later that evening. 

A  _ date. _ Who in a million years would’ve ever thought that Magnus would be going on a date with a mundane version of Alec Lightwood? Certainly not Magnus. Hell, if you’d’ve even  _ suggested  _ that Magnus would one day be smitten with a Lightwood back in the 1990’s, he would’ve laughed like it was the funniest joke ever. Now here he is, reminiscing about his wonderful  _ marriage _ to one, and suddenly finding himself chasing after a reincarnation.

To be frank, Magnus didn’t think it was fair. He was content with his Alexander. He missed him, of course, but he’d accepted that he was gone. He’d been forced to accept that from day one. He hadn’t liked it, but he’d understood it. Still, hated missing him. Hated the feeling that Alec would wind up no different than any of his past loves, even if he told himself that that could never happen. 

Looking down, Magnus saw a framed picture sitting on the desk in his library. They were scattered throughout the loft. (He had some from other flings, too, though not nearly as numerous. Together, Magnus suspected that all of the pictures of him and Alec outnumbered all the pictures of Magnus with anyone else.) This was his favorite picture of just the two of them, though. The only one he cherished more was by his bedside, and had been taken by Clary of not only him and Alec, but Rafe and Max as well. It had been right after they’d adopted Rafe, and the beaming smile of every single one of them was unparalleled by any other picture.

This one was a close second, though. 

It was taken towards the beginning of their relationship, and Magnus could still remember the night vividly. It was a selfie, taken on Magnus’ horrible cell phone. The quality was horrific compared to any other, but the content made up for it in tenfold. They were curled up on the couch by the fire, and Magnus recalled that there had been snow on the ground outside their cozy little escape. Magnus had taken the picture to commemorate their evening, even if Alec wasn’t so keen on it. It had been one of their easy days, when neither had anything better to do than stay inside all day in each other’s company. Magnus loved those days more than any other. 

_ “You know, we’ll have to talk about it some time.” Alec mumbled, flipping the page of his book. Knowing him, it was probably something boring like War and Peace or the Iliad. Looking over, Magnus saw that he was right.  _ The Art of War. _ That was almost worse. At least the other two had plots. This was simply depressing.  _

_ Magnus huffed and refocused on painting his nails. His legs were slung onto Alec’s lap and his head was resting on the armrest of the sofa, which made it a tad uncomfortable to perform such a task. Still, he was too content to move. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Alexander.” Yes he did. He knew  _ exactly _ what Alec was talking about because he distinctly remembered that Alec had brought up his immortality  _ again _ on their date last night and Magnus had evaded the question with all his power.  _

_ “Yes you do,” Alec said, shutting his book and shifting to get a better look at Magnus. “I know that you don’t want to talk about it but we can’t just keep pretending like this isn’t going to happen. I-” he did that  _ thing _ where he looked through his eyelashes, and Magnus  _ knew _ he knew that it drove the warlock crazy because the demon slayer looked so innocent, “- I just don’t want to be caught unprepared when this does come about.” _

_ “What do you want me to say, Alexander?” Magnus snapped, and the nail polish in his hand varnished with a blue spark, “That you’re going to start visibly ageing one day? That in the future people might give us strange looks because you’ll be fifty and I’ll still look like a twenty year old, even though I’m older than they could imagine? That,” -he choked on his words- “that you’re going to die one day? And I’ll have to keep going knowing that there was nothing I could’ve done to save you?” _

_ He was shaking, and there were little blue clouds dancing around his fingers.  _ Angels above, _ this is why he hated talking about this. He’s had this conversation  _ over and over and  **over** _ again and it always ends the same way. They grow bitter and they leave him and he never sees them again because they all want  _ families _ or to grow  _ old _ together or to just sit on a bench thirty years from then and hold hands and  _ not _ get weird look. And Magnus wants to give Alec that.  _ God, _ he’s wanted to give that to anybody who’s ever asked that of him. But he just  _ can’t _ because, even though he’s the High Warlock of Brooklyn, that’s just a title. He doesn’t have all the power in the world. He couldn’t change what he was. And Alec deserves so much more than that. He deserves to live a long, happy life and not look over and be reminded of the youth he’d no longer have.  _

_ But Magnus was selfish. Quite possibly the most selfish person he knew. He didn’t want to think about how if Alec started asking these questions of him he might consider his options, might leave Magnus behind and search for something more reasonable. And the absolute worst part of it all was that Magnus couldn’t even blame him for doing that, because it was perfectly logical. If Magnus was in his shoes, he would at least consider that. Heaven knows that he’s had just that happen to him countless times before. But he thought he’d have more time with Alec. They were hardly half a year into their relationship. Usually these doubts came by the two year mark at least. He wanted to enjoy it for a little bit longer. He didn’t want to face- _

_ “Magnus,” Alec whispered, laying a comforting hand on the warlock’s knee, “whatever you’re thinking, that’s not it. I don’t care about me ageing and you staying young. That’s not a problem for me. I just- I just wanted to be sure that you’d be okay, you know,  _ after.” _ Magnus was about to sob, because how was it that Alec always knew exactly what he wanted to hear? Every time Magnus thought he would go one way, Alec would pull the rug out from under him and do a complete 180, turning everything that Magnus had thought was going to be ugly and horrific into something beautiful and kind.  _

_ “I- I-” Magnus stuttered, because nobody had ever asked him that. No one had ever taken the time to figure out what he thought about the whole situation. God, they’ve never even asked in passing. This moment was the most selfless thing Magnus had ever witnessed one of his partners do, and it was making him smile lopsidedly like an idiot. He regained his composure as swiftly as he could, still keeping the goofy grin on his face. “That means quite a lot to me, Alexander. I don’t think you understand how much.” _

_ “All I know is that you deserve to know that I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I don’t care if I’m alive or dead, I just want you to be okay.” _

_ Magnus was blushing like a schoolgirl, and it was  _ embarrassing _ , ridiculously so. And yet… He didn’t feel shame. At least, not in front of Alexander. He’s never felt ashamed or weak in front of the shadowhunter, which was crazy. There have been  _ plenty _ of times when Magnus should’ve felt nothing but. (The incident when he’d become a sobbing mess because Chairman Meow had ran away or when he’d accidentally tripped over the front steps of the Institute because he was smiling at Alec, to name a few.)  _

_ The younger man had seen Magnus at his absolute worst, powerless and completely drained and falling apart where he stood, and his first instinct was never to hide. It was to trust Alec, who was always there to support him. Magnus never wanted that feeling to leave him.  _

_ “You know, Alec,” he shifted positions so that he had his back pressed to Alec’s chest, his head resting at the base of the shadowhunter's neck, and Alec responded immediately by wrapping his rune-covered arms around Magnus’ waist and pressing a soft kiss to the crown of the warlock’s head. “I’ve only invested myself this deeply in mortal companions a handful of times. Each of them turn out to be quite the disappointment.” He grinned up to Alec, “Not you, though. You are constantly finding ways to impress me.” He shouldn’t be blubbering on like this. They’d been dating for just over six months and he’d probably scare away Alexander with all this talk of his exes. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to stop. He couldn’t stop reminding Alec that, of all the hundreds of years Magnus had been alive, this short splice with him was by far the best.  _

_ “I’m glad I’m not disappointing.” Alec laughed in that puppy-dog way Magnus loved and he squeezed the warlock again. “And I hope that I never do, because if there’s one thing you don’t deserve, it’s to have some half wit who doesn’t love you half as much as I do to try to guilt you into something.” _

_ It almost slipped past Magnus. The  _ Word. _ He wouldn’t have even noticed it if Alec hadn’t stopped breathing for a moment after he’d finished speaking, which only led the warlock to over-analyze their conversation until he came up with what had stopped Alexander’s heart.  _ Some half wit who doesn’t love you half as much as I do. Love.  _ It was almost… Scary. To have that word said to him after all the times that tragedy had followed. Etta, Camille, the list went on. Each time Magnus had thought he’d found the one, something awful had happened, but something just felt different this time. Somehow, it was more realistic.  _

_ “Did you just-” Magnus started, a teasing grin playing at his lips. _

_ “I don’t want to talk about it,” Alec mumbled into Magnus’ hair. And, while the older man  _ did _ want to talk about it, he held off. If Alec was uncomfortable, he wouldn’t pressure him.  _

_ “Okay,” Magnus shrugged and plucked his nail polish out of the air, “but, just for the record, there were plenty of half wits who I didn’t love  _ nearly _ half as much as I love you.” He said it wit a nonchalance that one would accompany with ‘I bought a pizza,’ but Magnus could feel Alec stiffen beneath him. This was, as the kids loved to say, the ‘L Word.’ This was supposed to be a big moment in their relationship, and Magnus had just paired it in the same sentence as ‘half wit.’  _

_“C-cool.” Alec stuttered out, then his eyes flew open like saucers, “_ ** _Fuck!_** _No, I- I didn’t just say cool to that. I- By the angel. No! I didn’t- I mean- I would never- Magnus I’m_ not _that lame I swea-” Magnus rolled his eyes happily and resigned himself to finishing his nails later, willing the bottle of polish away once again. He flipped over and planted his lips firmly on Alexander’s._

_ “I promise, Angel, I know you’re not that lame,” he kissed him again, “even if you kind of are. It’s very endearing.” Alec’s cheeks flamed a horrid shade of red as he tried to sputter out a response, only to just avert his eyes and mutter something under his breath about  _ definitely not _ being lame. _

_ The idea that Magnus was most definitely falling in love with this shadowhunter was a lot. He’d been in love before, and never had it been as risky as loving Alexander. He’d only ever dated immortals, mundanes, or had an occasional fling with a werewolf. All of those were safe bets because Magnus had always been on the same level as them. Alec was a shadowhunter, a species that up until a decade or so ago had firmly held to the belief that they were above the downworlders in every single way. Not to mention their aversion to the LGBT community, it was like a double offense in their eyes.  _

_ And Magnus knew how he fell in love. It was how people got into pools, slowly testing the waters and making sure it was safe, or diving right in without a second thought. So far, it’s been the latter of the two. Magnus welcomed it as much as he cautioned it, because he knew how this ended. He knew that this would only lead to heartbreak for him, no matter what happened. But if he grew so afraid of loving that he stopped all together, he’d never forgive himself. Better to love and lose than never love at all, as he’s sure some melodramatic poet had once said.  _

_ Alec was still blushing, and Magnus never wanted to forget how enticing it made him look. Without even realizing what he’d done, Magnus felt the weight of his phone in his hands, and looking down he saw the familiar glittery case. Not taking a second to think about what he was doing, he slid the camera open and extended his arm. _

_ “Magnus what’re you-”  _

_ “Don’t move, Angel. You’ll ruin the picture.” No he wouldn’t. No picture with Alec in it could ever truly be ruined. But Magnus wanted to capture that blush and if Alec managed to second guess himself and raise his hands quickly enough Magnus wouldn’t have another chance.  _

_ In the end, the familiar  _ snap _ of the camera working happens too fast for even Alexander’s highly trained reflexes. Magnus hid a smug smile as he lowered the phone to his lap and swiped into the photo album. It was adorable, there was no other word to describe it. Alec’s hair was still a mess because he hadn’t done anything to it since they’d woken up, and Magnus had significantly less makeup on than usual (just the barest hints of concealer and mascara.) The warlock’s arm was twined around his boyfriend’s side and Alec definitely was still blushing, though it looked like he was fighting the barest hints of a smile.  _

_ “You know, we make quite the attractive pair,” Magnus mused as he absentmindedly changed that picture to his lock screen (which had been a picture of Chairman Meow, but Magnus would apologize to his cat later. Besides, the creature was still his home screen background. As of now, he was just evening the playing field between the Chairman and Alec.) (Was it strange to be comparing one’s boyfriend to a cat? It wasn’t, right? Especially if you loved your cat enough to throw yearly birthday parties. That must translate to Magnus loving Alec enough to throw  _ him _ epic parties every year, right?)  _

_ “So I’m nothing more than arm candy to you?” Alec said playfully, leaning over Magnus’ shoulder to see the picture, and smiled even wider when he saw that it was the warlock’s locksceen. “I thought that was the Chairman’s job.” He pressed a quick kiss to the shell of Magnus’ ear before getting up, ruining the balance of the couch, and calling a quick “do you want any tea?” over his shoulder. Which made Magnus smile even wider because Clary had once told him that true love was when your significant other knew your coffee order and Magnus  _ despised _ coffee. But he knew Alec thrived on it and suddenly had a coffee pot in his kitchen (under the guise of an early Christmas present to Alec, even if they still had over a month until the holiday and Magnus had much bigger plans than a coffee pot.) On the same note, Alec had learned how to prepare tea from a kettal (the only way to drink it in the warlock’s opinion) instead of just buying pre-made stuff like Izzy apparently did. The whole thing sent a swarm of butterflies raging through Magnus’ whole body.  _

Quite suddenly, Magnus was thrust back to present day with the vibrating of his phone in his pocket. He slipped it into his hands and swiped it open. Since the days of that picture, the backgrounds had changed. Alec had graduated from lockscreen to homescreen, which was a picture from their wedding. His homescreen had evolved to include not only him and Alec, but also Max, (who’d been in his junior year of high school) Rafe, (just graduated college)  _ and _ Chairman Meow (who’d unfortunately been in his last years by then.) 

**Blueberry calling. Accept or Decline?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I know I promised the date this chapter... But that didn't quite work out. And It's not going to show up in the next chapter either (though, I am very excited to write the next one. It's definitely an unexpected one) but I CAN promise that I have started mapping out how I want it to go. And since the beginning of writing this I've come up with a much clearer plot than I started with. Now I have a definite middle and end planned out, all I need to do is figure out how to get there!
> 
> On an unrelated note: I got accepted into the advanced writing program at my school, which I should be taking either next year or the year after that, so hopefully my writing will only get better as I continue. 
> 
> I'll see y'all next time and I can't wait until tomorrow's episode. You can see me freak out about it on my Tumblr, @fangirlmaxima

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter we take to Alec's point of view, meet some old faces, and watch that first date unfold.


End file.
